---
name: "Jay Ellis"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/jay-ellis"
fi1m_id: "jay-ellis"
imdb_id: "nm1337350"
tmdb_id: 151680
wikidata_id: "Q33125138"
roles: ["Actor","Director"]
born: "27 December 1981"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 5
average_fi1m_score: 68
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-24T09:14:08.169873+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Jay Ellis

## Identity

Jay Ellis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/jay-ellis
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** jay-ellis
- **IMDb ID:** nm1337350
- **TMDB ID:** 151680
- **Wikidata ID:** Q33125138
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Ellis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33125138, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1337350/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/151680

Actor and director. Born 27 December 1981 in Sumter, South Carolina, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor, Director
- **Born:** 27 December 1981, Sumter, South Carolina, USA
- **Active:** 2016–present
- **Also known as:** 傑・艾利斯
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 5: 4 acting, 1 directing
- **Average Fi1m score:** 68, as actor, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2010s 81 (1), 2020s 68 (4)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 68 to 71 across 4 titles
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 2, Action 1, Comedy 1, Crime 1, Mystery 1, Romance 1
- **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $1,504m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Ellis, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q33125138, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1337350/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/151680

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Insecure*](https://film.one/tv/insecure.md) (81)
- **Apple TV:** [*Top Gun: Maverick*](https://film.one/film/top-gun-maverick.md) (80)
- **Peacock:** [*All Her Fault*](https://film.one/tv/all-her-fault.md) (68)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Jay Ellis

> Jay Ellis is at his best playing men who are neither villains nor heroes, only a little behind where they meant to be. Lawrence in *Insecure* is still the performance to judge him by; nothing since has asked as much of him.

In *Insecure* (2016), Lawrence Walker has been out of work long enough for the sofa to have a shape. Ellis plays him not as a failure but as a decent man who has stopped noticing, which is harder than playing a bad one. He does not ask for our sympathy and he does not ask for our contempt either; he just sits there, and lets Issa Rae's script do the counting. We liked Lawrence more than we expected to, and felt slightly guilty about it, because the show is honest about what it costs Issa to live with a man who is always about to start.

That was the breakthrough, and it came late. Ellis spent years in guest parts after arriving in Los Angeles in 2004, then had his first proper run as Bryce Westbrook on *The Game* (2013–2015). *Insecure* ran five seasons, and by the fourth Rae had persuaded him behind the camera for an episode. He has said of the role that he "was scared to go play Lawrence. I didn't want to be vulnerable; that's not how I was raised. But it brought something out in me as an actor." On the evidence of the screen, it did.

Since then the parts have been in films we have not reviewed and ensembles that do not lean on him. *Escape Room* (2019) gave him a lead in a horror franchise; *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022) put him in a cockpit as Payback, with real flight training behind it. We will not judge either at length. What we can say is that in *All Her Fault* (2025), an eight-part kidnap mystery carried almost entirely by Sarah Snook, our review found nothing particular to say about his Colin Dobbs, and that is not a complaint about him so much as a description of the job.

The pattern is clear enough. Ellis is cast as the relatable man, the boyfriend, the colleague, the one you would not mind being stuck in a lift with, and he does it without fuss. What he has shown only once is the other thing: a character whose ordinariness is the problem, written by someone who wanted to look at it. Rae gave him that, and she remains the collaborator who has got the most out of him.

He has a lead coming in *The Rookie: North* (2027). A police procedural is a long way from a bathroom mirror in Inglewood, and it will tell us whether he can find the gap between a man's public voice and his private one without Rae writing it for him. Until then, start with *Insecure*, and watch how long it takes you to get impatient with Lawrence. It is the point.

## Biography

Jay Ellis is an American actor. Born in Sumter, South Carolina, on 27 December 1981, he began his career in modelling before moving to Los Angeles to pursue acting.

His first major role was in the BET series *The Game* (2013–2015). He is best known for playing Lawrence Walker in the HBO series *Insecure* (2016–2021), for which he received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series, and as Lieutenant Reuben 'Payback' Fitch in the film *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022).

Ellis has also appeared in *Escape Room* (2019) and series including *Grey's Anatomy*, *NCIS*, *Masters of Sex* and *Grace and Frankie*. In 2025 he played Colin Dobbs in the Peacock series *All Her Fault*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, deadline.com.*

## On Fi1m (5)

### Performed in (4) — the average rests on these

- *One Night Only* (2026), Fi1m 46, as Bernard Starks — [page](https://film.one/film/one-night-only.md)
- *All Her Fault* (2025), Fi1m 68, as Colin Dobbs — [page](https://film.one/tv/all-her-fault.md)
- *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022), Fi1m 80, as Lt. Reuben 'Payback' Fitch — [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun-maverick.md)
- *Mrs. America* (2020), Fi1m 79, as Franklin Thomas — [page](https://film.one/tv/mrs-america.md)

### Directed (1)

- *Insecure* (2016), Fi1m 81, as Lawrence — [page](https://film.one/tv/insecure.md)

## Complete filmography (39)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *One Night Only* (2026), as Bernard Starks — Fi1m 46, [page](https://film.one/film/one-night-only.md)
- *Not Suitable for Work* (2026), series, as Bill Gibson
- *All Her Fault* (2025), series, as Colin Dobbs — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/all-her-fault.md)
- *Freaky Tales* (2025), as Sleepy Floyd
- *Running Point* (2025), series, as Jay Brown
- *The Gutter* (2024), as Lil Patience
- *The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy* (2024), series, as (voice)
- *History of the World: Part II* (2023), series, as Jesus
- *Somebody I Used to Know* (2023), as Sean
- *Top Gun: Maverick* (2022), as Lt. Reuben 'Payback' Fitch — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/top-gun-maverick.md)
- *Black Box* (2020), Co-Executive Producer
- *Mrs. America* (2020), series, as Franklin Thomas — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/tv/mrs-america.md)
- *Behind Her Faith* (2020), series, Producer
- *Thirsty* (2019), as Young Man
- *A Black Lady Sketch Show* (2019), series, as Wise Man
- *Escape Room* (2019), as Jason Walker
- *The Last Days of TJ Staggs* (2018), as Executive
- *In a Relationship* (2018), as Dexter
- *A Boy. A Girl. A Dream* (2018), Actor
- *Insecure* (2016), series, as Lawrence · Director — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/tv/insecure.md)
- *Like Cotton Twines* (2016), as Micha Brown
- *Breaking Through* (2015), as Quinn
- *Grace and Frankie* (2015), series, as Dan
- *November Rule* (2015), as James Avedon
- *My Favorite Five* (2015), as Jonathan Colburn
- *Dear Secret Santa* (2013), as Brad
- *Masters of Sex* (2013), series, as Dr. Cyril Franklin — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/masters-of-sex.md)
- *Movie 43* (2013), as Lucious (segment "Victory's Glory") — Fi1m 24, [page](https://film.one/film/movie-43.md)
- *Hart of Dixie* (2011), series, as Resident
- *Triple Standard* (2010), as Lewis
- *NCIS: Los Angeles* (2009), series, as Naval Flight Officer Randall Baker
- *iCarly* (2007), series, as Friend #1
- *The Game* (2006), series, as Bryce Westbrook
- *Related* (2005), series, as College Student
- *How I Met Your Mother* (2005), series, as Sound Guy — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/tv/how-i-met-your-mother.md)
- *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), series, as DJ — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/greys-anatomy.md)
- *NCIS* (2003), series, as Tommy Hill — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/ncis.md)
- *Shoot*, as Hank Banks/Frank Banks · Producer
- *The Rookie: North*, series, as Alex Holland · Producer

## Gallery

- ![Jay_Ellis_Mike_Jackson_Sept_2022-27](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-966252c70dd4.jpg) Jay_Ellis_Mike_Jackson_Sept_2022-27 — Moody College of Communication from Austin, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Jay_Ellis_Mike_Jackson_Sept_2022-27_%2852378593491%29.jpg/1280px-Jay_Ellis_Mike_Jackson_Sept_2022-27_%2852378593491%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jay Ellis at the "Sue Bird: In the Clutch" red carpet at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Please attribute to Casey Nedelka if used elsewhere](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-2757e3c380af.jpg) Jay Ellis at the "Sue Bird: In the Clutch" red carpet at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Please attribute to Casey Nedelka if used elsewhere — ReverendPoppins, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Jay_Ellis_Sundance_2024_Cropped.jpg/1280px-Jay_Ellis_Sundance_2024_Cropped.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jay Ellis](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-b69efe2b1d02.jpg) Jay Ellis — ReverendPoppins, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/85/Jay_Ellis_Sundance_2024_Cropped_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Jay_Ellis_Sundance_2024_Cropped_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jay Ellis at San Diego Comic Con 2026](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-7461b44e61b9.jpg) Jay Ellis at San Diego Comic Con 2026 — Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Jay_Ellis_at_San_Diego_Comic_Con_2026-1.jpg/1280px-Jay_Ellis_at_San_Diego_Comic_Con_2026-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jay Ellis](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-4a3154d2f5e3.jpg) Jay Ellis — Image via TMDB
- ![Jay Ellis](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-a19340845e2a.jpg) Jay Ellis — Image via TMDB
- ![Jay Ellis at San Diego Comic Con 2026](https://film.one/media/person/23919/gallery-aaf94ae6c1e8.jpg) Jay Ellis at San Diego Comic Con 2026 — Kevin Paul, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Jay_Ellis_at_San_Diego_Comic_Con_2026-2.jpg/1280px-Jay_Ellis_at_San_Diego_Comic_Con_2026-2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/jay-ellis